Page 23 of A Wise Prince

“It’s the best view on the estate,” he says as he begins to tell me about the different things we can see from our scenic view. He’s quite knowledgeable. I don’t know why that surprises me. I ask questions and he answers them. He’s a little silly and I laugh at his ridiculous jokes as he pokes fun at my lack of knowledge regarding his nation’s history.

“Shall we head back?” I ask when he finishes.

“How about we let the horses have a little fun first?” he says with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Fun?” I ask, but I’m too late as he taps Sirius on the back and the horse takes off across the field, galloping at a fast pace.

“OK, girl. Let’s show them what we are made of,” I whisper in Patsy’s ear before giving her a tap. She takes off, and I laugh as I begin to feel the familiar back and forth rocking in the saddle from her fast-paced motion. I grip the saddle and whoop as we speed past Sirius. Auggie calls out something but I don’t hear him with the wind whipping in my ears. I don’t realize we are coming to a cliff area until Patsy comes to a sudden halt. I’m thrown from the saddle and land with a thump on the ground. My leg starts sliding down the vertical rock. I ignore the pain in my hip and slowly pull myself up, trying to stop my fall.

A strong hand grasps me, and before I know it, I’m pulled into Auggie and he’s falling back with me on top of him.

His eyes are wide, and he slowly runs his hands over me.

“Are you OK?” he asks, his hands stopping on my hips, keeping me flush against him.

I swallow and assess myself.

“I-I think so. My hip hurts a little. I landed pretty hard on it, but I think I’m OK.” His hand rubs along my hip and I grimace as he touches a sore spot.

“We should get you back. Get that looked at. I’m sorry. I was trying to tell you, but you didn’t hear me,” he says.

I shake my head. “It’s my fault. I was…having a little too much fun and didn’t pay attention.”

“Why don’t you ride with me on the way back?” he says.

“I-I can ride,” I stammer as he rolls us over and helps me up. I take his hand and he pulls me back against him. He smells…so good. And his body is…solid muscle.

I take a step and wince. My hip is gonna have the biggest bruise.

“Nope, not happening. Come on,” he says as he grabs me and helps me up on Sirius as though I weigh nothing. He mounts the horse behind me, pulling me against him and grabs Patsy’s reins. He keeps his one arm wrapped around me as we make our way back to the stables.

I lean back against him as we ride. His hand is right beneath my breast, occasionally it brushes the underside of my breast. I don’t know what’s come over me, but I now understand why so many women want to be with him. He’s sex personified. He’s what female fantasies are made of. My Prince Charming literally just rescued me. Fuck, I’m officially a fairy tale.

CHAPTERNINE

August

I keepKate firmly in my grip as we head toward the stables. I’m not going to lie; I want her there. I only wish she didn’t have any clothes on, but I think I can rectify that later. I try to decipher my desire for her as we ride in silence. I also allow my hand to bump up against the underside of her breast whenever possible. Yeah, like I said, I’m an asshole.

I don’t know if it’s the “bagging the First Daughter” thing, or if it’s taming this stubborn woman that has me all keyed up over her. I just know right now, I want to peel off these clothes and fuck her until she’s screaming my name.

As we approach the stables, I spot Anna and Logan dismounting their horses.

“Hey,” Anna says and then frowns. “Are you guys OK?”

“Yes. I just had a bit of a spill,” Kate says. I stop the horses and hand Patsy’s reins over to Logan. I hop off and then carefully lower Kate to the ground. She winces slightly.

“Sorry,” I murmur in her ear as I let her go.

“It’s OK. I’ll be fine, really,” she assures me. “It’s nice to meet you, Princess Susanna.” She tries to curtsy but winces again.

“Oh, you must have really got thrown. I’ll have Tessa call the doctor. And please, call me Anna,” my sister says, smiling warmly.

“No. I don’t need a doctor. I’ve been tossed off a horse before. Just an ice pack and some painkillers and I’ll be good as new,” she says.

“Would you two mind putting the horses away? I’ll help Kate back to her room,” Anna says. I want to strangle my sister for pussy-blocking me.

“Thanks,” Kate says as she hobbles alongside Anna toward the front of the palace.

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